iSuppli sees no let up in netbook revolution

Analyst forecasts shipments of the small form factor will grow by a further 30 per cent this year

iSuppli forecasts strong growth of netbooks and CULV notebooks this year

Market watcher iSuppli has predicted that the notebook PC market will enjoy double-digit growth during 2010, with sales of netbook PCs leading the way.

The analyst predicts that notebook PC shipments will be up by 25.5 per cent on last year at 209.5 million units. Netbook shipments will rise by 30 per cent and account for 34.5 million of total units shipped.

Consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) notebooks shipments are expected to grow by 93 per cent to 14.5 million units this year.

The analyst house added that traditional notebook PCs will experience the highest shipment levels at 160.5 million, but its market is expected to show the smallest level of growth at 21 per cent over the course of 2010.

Peter Lin, senior analyst for compute platform at iSuppli, said: “Despite the worldwide recession last year, consumers were enthusiastic about notebook PCs, a trend that will persist in 2010 especially for the market’s two fastest-growing segments—the netbook and the CULV notebook.”

In terms of vendors, iSuppli predicts that Acer will retain its position as the number-one netbook manufacturer this year, as a result of the firm’s competitive pricing and strong channel partnerships.

ISuppli expects competition among the rest of the top five netbook vendors, which include Asustek, HP, Samsung and Dell, will heat up this year, thanks to HP’s growing retail presence.